AMD has launched its new Opteron 6000 series server platform.

The Opteron 6000 series CPUs addresses three key data center trends:

Virtualization – Support up to 48 cores in a 4P configuration as well as virtualization acceleration technology
Power management – Incorporates AMD-P suite of power management features, which minimize the usage of the whole CPU, of individual cores and even specific logic within each core based on current workload
Value – Twice the performance of the previous generation platform, double the cores, all at the same price point
The catch? Well, it’s that upgrading to the Opteron 6000 series will mean whole-scale server replacements because directly upgrades of the servers isn’t possible because the Opteron 6000 series use a G34 socket as opposed to the Socket F used on older Opteron processors. The G34 platform provides support for four DDR3 channels and up to four processor sockets.

Target: Enterprise Class 2-way and 4-way Servers

Twelve-core and Eight–core, L2 – 512K/core, L3 – 12MB of shared L3 Cache
AMD CoolCore™ technology, AMD PowerNow!™ technology, Enhanced C1 state, AMD CoolSpeed technology, APML (in APML enabled platforms)
Quad-Channel LV & U/RDDR3, ECC, support for on-line spare memory
Supports up to 3 DIMMs/channel, up to 12 DIMMS per CPU
Planned platforms 2P/2U, 2P Tower, 4P rack,
4P Blade
Single Series for performance DP and MP platforms

2P economics for 4P servers
Compelling price/performance for volume market
G34 Socket Infrastructure

Balanced performance with power/thermals
Quad 16-bit HyperTransport™ 3 technology (HT3) links, up to 6.4 GT/s per link
AMD SR56×0 chipset with I/O Virtualization and PCIe® 2.0

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This board is prepped for the hexacore AMD Phenom II X6.

AMD and its motherboard partners today released the AMD 890GX Chipset, integrated with the ATI Radeon HD 4290, and are designed to be compatible with the upcoming AMD Phenom II X6 six-core processor.

The AMD 890GX Chipset supports the SATA 3.0 6Gb/s hard drive interface and many AMD 890GX-based motherboards feature SuperSpeed USB 3.0 support.

We’ve got our hands on the Gigabyte GA-890GPA-UD3H, the Asus M4A89GTD Pro/USB3, and the MSI 890GXM-G65. After putting them through a barrage of tests, our reviews department found that AMD’s SB850 southbridge is probably the best reason to select an 890GX motherboard over the products it replaces thanks to the new integrated SATA 6Gb/s controller.AMD’s chipsets have long provided great features for the money, especially compared to high-end platforms like X48 and X58 from its chief rival, Intel. Everything between the mid-priced (still high-end) 790FX to its more commonplace integrated-graphics products can be attractive, depending on your usage model.

AMD’s multi-monitor advantage comes from the way it separates PCIe and GPU functions to deliver sixteen PCIe 2.0 lanes to graphics cards (up to two) without sacrificing integrated graphics functionality. Its Catalyst driver package controls both onboard and discrete Radeon graphics controllers simultaneously, seamlessly managing multiple desktop configurations. The three boards in today’s roundup have another advantage over those of our recent H55 comparison, in that those products didn’t support DVI dual-link mode for extra-large displays.

Another advantage today’s motherboards have over the Intel H55-based competition is the chipset’s additional PCIe 2.0 lanes, one of which supplies each of today’s motherboards with the same USB 3.0 controller at its full 5.0 Gb/s interface bandwidth. Intel’s chipset lanes run at half-speed, so that two lanes and a costly PCIe switch are required to reach the controller’s maximum throughput.

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The year 2009 was a busy but good one for AMD. The company won a huge victory when the European Antitrust Commission found Intel guilty of anticompetitive practices and fined the company $1.45 billion. Though AMD didn’t received a share of the fine, the case laid the foundations for a similar case in the United States. The FTC is still investigating Intel, but late last year, the company settled with AMD, resolving all legal disputes. The settlement saw Intel hand over $1.25 billion in damages and it was that money that helped AMD post its first profit in three years.

AMD yesterday posted a Q4 revenue of  $1.65 billion, an increase of 18 percent compared to the previous quarter and 42 percent compared to the fourth quarter of 2008. Net income attributable to AMD common stockholders was $1.178 billion, or $1.52 per share. AMD reported an operating income of $1.288 billion.

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